Simon Gerrans, who has been relatively quiet since taking two stages and the GC at his home race, the Tour Down Under, in January, says he is in good shape for the Tour de France.

“I’m feeling good, the last part of my preparations have gone really well. I’ve had a good blow at the Dauphiné and the training has gone well since then. It’s always a bit of an unknown coming into these first stages, but everything’s been going bang on track,” he told the media at the team’s pre-Tour press conference.

Stage two can suit the Aussie, but he is wary of the high risk for crashes as riders still seek the Yellow Jersey.

“I like the look of it actually, the final climb up to the finish is quite tricky, the gradient varies quite a lot. You go from wide road to narrow road so a big part of it is going to be about positioning. But there are several guys that are really going to target Stage 2.”

Failing that, he has his eyes set on stages five and six, which may present great opportunities for riders like Gerrans.

“I think it’s either stage 5 or 6 looks like a bit of a slick run in to the finish as well which is good for the characteristics of the team that we have and then after that we hit the big mountains and then it’ll be a matter of going for breakaway opportunities.”